March 30, 2017

State workers, police and firefighter pensions lose in Senate GOP budget

It’s not the first time Senate Republicans have proposed rejecting negotiated pay increases for state workers, while offering flat annual raises that would be cheaper.

And just like before, alternate raises aren’t something lawmakers have the power to impose.

Leaders of the Senate majority have proposed saving the state about $250 million in the next two years by rejecting most of the labor contracts Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s office negotiated with 38 employee unions last summer. The plan from GOP leaders instead would offer workers flat annual raises of $500 each of the next two years.

But the state’s collective bargaining laws only let the Legislature approve labor contracts negotiated with state employees in full, or reject them entirely. Lawmakers can’t alter them, something that has irked Republicans for years.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article140719963.html

March 30, 2017

On freezing tuition, Democrats and Republicans swap positions in Olympia

For four years, it has been Republicans who have been holding the line on tuition in Olympia — first by freezing it, and then by pushing through a tuition cut.

Now, it’s Democrats who want to halt tuition increases at the state’s colleges and universities, while Republicans are proposing modest increases of about 2 percent a year.

GOP leaders — who control the state Senate with the aid of one conservative Democrat — say Washington state’s tuition policy has finally stabilized after years of double-digit tuition hikes under Democrats’ watch. The budget Republicans have proposed for the next two years focuses on adding more slots for students, while continuing a plan lawmakers approved in 2015 to tie tuition increases to growth in the state’s median wage.

Democrats, meanwhile, are less focused on boosting enrollment, saying they instead want to keep tuition costs down for the next two years. The budget plan House Democrats released this week would spend $56.3 million over two years to freeze undergraduate resident tuition, along with $72.7 million to extend state financial aid to 6,000 additional students.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article141369068.html

March 30, 2017

Hanford a step closer to treating radioactive waste in 5 years

Workers at the Hanford vitrification plant have completed another step toward getting the plant ready to treat some of the nuclear reservation’s waste by as soon as 2022.

The last major equipment for a system that will clean the exhaust from the first operating treatment facility at the plant has been installed.

The system will make sure exhaust from the Low Activity Waste Facility meets air quality requirements as the facility produces up to 30 tons of vitrified waste a day.

The caustic scrubber — which is nearly 30 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter — was lowered through the roof of the 90-foot-tall Low Activity Waste Facility. The scrubber, initially weighing 14 tons, weighs 19 tons with internal components installed.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article141574289.html

March 30, 2017

Only in the Tri-Cities a nuclear fountain

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/nffqyp/picture141603879/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/Reach%20Fountain

A new decorative fountain is one of those projects that make visitors think “only in the Tri-Cities.”

Energy Northwest, marking its 60th anniversary, has worked with local companies to turn a bundle of nuclear fuel rods, called a fuel assembly, into an outdoor fountain that stands 15 feet tall.

It is installed at the Reach museum in Richland, framing a section of the Columbia River visitors see as they walk outside the museum onto the patio.

Water flows down the middle and trickles along the sides of a 13-foot-tall fuel assembly that’s the centerpiece of the fountain.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article141603884.html

March 30, 2017

Bill to help sick Hanford site employees dies in Senate

OLYMPIA — A bill that would have helped the sick employees of a nuclear site in southeastern Washington has died in Legislature.

KING-TV reports that the Senate Labor, Commerce and Sports Committee chose not to vote on House Bill 1723 after its hearing last week, which automatically caused the bill to die. The bill would have granted a presumption of occupational illness for certain conditions including cancer for people who got sick while working at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The reservation was a site where the federal government produced plutonium for nuclear weapons for 45 years.

Committee Chair and Republican Senator Michael Baumgartner of Spokane says the bill covered an important issue, but it was one that required additional discussion and fact finding with the federal government and elected officials.

Read more: http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/mar/29/bill-to-help-sick-hanford-site-employees-dies-in-senate/

March 30, 2017

State lawmakers push to allow medical marijuana in schools

OLYMPIA — Meagan Holt sat in the front row of a committee hearing earlier this week holding her 4-year-old daughter Maddie in one arm and a syringe filled with cannabis oil in the other.

“Cannabis is what’s kept her alive all this time,” Holt said. “She isn’t supposed to be here.”

Maddie was born blind, deaf and has many health complications from a rare terminal disease called Zellweger Syndrome. Holt says babies like her usually die shortly after birth, but Maddie has surpassed her life expectancy because of medical marijuana.

Lawmakers in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee heard parents like Holt speak about the benefits of medical marijuana and how it has helped their children function without pain or other issues until their next dose. House Bill 1060 would allow a parent or guardian to privately administer medical marijuana to a child while at school, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event. Under existing law schools are not required to allow on-site use of medical marijuana, but are permitted to allow it if they choose. The measure awaits action in the Ways & Means Committee.

Read more: http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/mar/29/lawmakers-push-to-allow-medical-marijuana-in-schools/

March 30, 2017

Louisiana governor loses in clash over education redesign

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's top public school board ignored the wishes of Gov. John Bel Edwards and moved ahead Wednesday with plans to submit a redesign of state education policies to the federal government next month.

Edwards wanted the submission delayed until mid-September, saying it needed more work.

But the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 7-4 to send the outline in April, siding with Superintendent of Education John White. All three of Edwards' appointees to the board voted against an April submission after six hours of debate.

At issue is a proposal required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, a 2015 law that requires states to spell out how they'll address school ratings, student report cards and other ways to spot and help troubled schools.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article141394028.html

March 30, 2017

Tennessee bid to name God as source of liberty resurrected

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A previously defeated proposal to amend the state constitution to say that God is the source of Tennesseans' liberties has been resurrected in the House.

The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Micah Van Huss of Jonesborough failed on a 3-3 vote in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee earlier this month. But the panel agreed to a motion to reconsider the bill made by Republican Rep. Martin Daniel of Knoxville.

The resolution is scheduled to be reheard April 5.

The proposed addition to the Tennessee Constitution would read: "We recognize that our liberties do not come from governments, but from almighty God."

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/article141605584.html

March 30, 2017

Treasurer of Puyallup dog club charged with stealing $75,000

The treasurer of a Puyallup nonprofit that hosts dog shows is accused of stealing $75,000 from the club before resigning.

Pierce County prosecutors have charged the 60-year-old woman with first-degree theft. She is set to be arraigned April 10.

The woman served as treasurer of the Puyallup Valley Dog Fanciers, which describes itself as one of the state’s oldest and largest clubs that hold all-breed dog shows.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article141262348.html

March 30, 2017

Washington gets extension on complying with federal ID law

OLYMPIA — With a deadline looming that could affect Washington residents’ ability to fly domestically, the state has been granted a temporary extension from the enforcement of federal requirements for state driver’s licenses and ID cards.

Last week’s letter from the Department of Homeland Security, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, says the extension will run through June 6. It notes that the extension was granted with the expectation that the state would pass a bill that has already cleared the Senate and is awaiting a committee vote in the House.

For years, state lawmakers have struggled on how to best comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver’s licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.

“This extension is intended to provide Washington with the opportunity to take any necessary steps needed to meet all the requirements of the REAL ID Act and its implementing regulation,” the letter reads. “Failure to take these steps may result in the denial of future extension requests, thereby making Washington subject to REAL ID enforcement.”

Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-gets-extension-on-complying-with-federal-id-law/